In aviation, two types of fuel are generally used, jet fuel (kerosene) and AVGAS. Placement of jet fuel in an aircraft engine designed to operate on AVGAS, or vice versa, can cause damage to the engine with potentially catastrophic results to the aircraft and passengers. Accordingly, it is important that the two fuels do not become confused with one another, or mixed with one another. For this reason, the two fuel types are stored onsite at an airport in separate tanks. Furthermore, tankcars for transporting aviation fuels are dedicated to such fuels. It is usual practice for a tankcar operator to dedicate a transportation tankcar for use with only AVGAS or jetfuel. However, such dedication is not required, and consequently, confusion can arise as to the type of fuel contained in a tankcar.
Current practices require labeling of tanks and tankcars for the type of fuel stored or transported, and for the recipient of fuel (normally the storage tank operator) to test the fuel for fuel type prior to unloading a tankcar. The test, at a minimum, consists of taking a sample of the fuel and visually inspecting the sample for color: AVGAS is tinted blue, while jet fuel is clear or has a slight yellow tint. However, it has been the inventor's experience that in many instances, the fuel recipient fails to preform the test, or mistakenly interprets the test results. Consequently, fuel types can be mixed, either in loading of the tankcar, or loading of the onsite storage tank. At a minimum, if the error is discovered prior to use of the fuel, the tank or tankcar must be purged and cleaned, and contaminated product must be properly disposed, both time consuming and expensive procedures.